The present invention relates to a tennis racket.
Conventional tennis rackets include a frame and a flexible cloth comprising a plurality of intersecting strings which are connected to the frame. The strings when hit by a tennis ball diverge from the plane extending through the frame of the racket.
The tennis rackets of various structures are known in the art. The cloth of the racket is usually composed of one or many strings which extend through the openings provided in the frame and are thus connected to said frame.
When the tennis ball impinges against the strings it will deflect the strings over a predetermined angle because the strings function as a flexible diaphragm. However, in the region of connection of the strings to the frame, which is an edge region, the ball causes an assymmetrical deflection of the strings inasmuch as the ends of the strings are rigidly connected to the frame. In such situation the ball flying out of the strings is subject to an additional movement component, and therefore when a player hits the ball the direction of the movement of the ball traveling out from the strings is affected by said additional movement component. This effect may be compensated by a skilled player but not completely.
In order to solve the problem found in the rackets of the conventional type it has been proposed to produce tennis rackets with enlarged frames. It has been also suggested to connect the strings to the frame of the racket by springs; this, however caused an uncontrollable operation of the flexible strings.